Experts: Infrastructure, Staff and Data Must Precede an AI Ministry in Iraq
Experts emphasize investing in AI to develop Iraqi state institutions but stress that infrastructure, skilled personnel and data preparation must come before institutional expansion; a parliamentarian says no official proposal to create a dedicated ministry has been received.
Specialists stress the importance of investing in artificial intelligence to develop Iraqi state institutions, while emphasizing the need to prepare infrastructure, personnel and data before considering the establishment of a new ministerial structure. This comes as a member of parliament says the Council has not yet received any official proposal on the matter, amid debate over the cost of new ministries and government spending priorities.
The discussion follows the circulation of political proposals to create new ministries and to split the Ministry of Culture and Tourism into two ministries, against a backdrop of financial pressures and calls to rationalize spending and restructure the government apparatus. It remains unclear whether the idea of an AI ministry will become an official government project.
Regarding the parliamentary position, a member of the Parliamentary Electricity and Energy Committee and head of the National Path bloc, Hassan Waryoush al-Asadi, said "the topic of creating a ministry for artificial intelligence has not been raised formally inside the Parliament," adding that "establishing a ministry in this specialty requires a clear administrative structure and working system," and that "current economic conditions and the principle of austerity do not encourage creating ministries or splitting existing ones."
Al-Asadi pointed out that the AI file can be managed within the Ministries of Communications or Higher Education and Scientific Research given its link to digital technologies and scientific research, noting that Iraq's electricity crisis poses an additional challenge to developing the sector and operating computing systems.
The academic specializing in media and communication, Haider Shallal Mutib, said that "establishing a national institution for artificial intelligence could help Iraq keep pace with global technological shifts, but it requires a realistic assessment of the country's capabilities in infrastructure, communications, education and data integration."
Mutib added that the success of this approach requires "a gradual vision that sets priorities according to available capabilities, leverages universities and research centers, alongside developing digital skills and qualifying specialized personnel," warning of challenges related to information accuracy, digital misinformation and data protection. He noted that success is not achieved merely by creating a ministry but by the institution's ability to translate plans into practical applications based on suitable infrastructure, sustainable funding, national competencies and clear indicators to measure results.
Researcher and academic Saif al-Karraawi said that "international experiences do not present a single model for managing artificial intelligence," explaining that some countries have integrated it with digital transformation, e-government and communications, while others have adopted national frameworks shared among multiple institutions.
Al-Karraawi noted that Kazakhstan established a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development responsible for files including e-government, data, communications and information security, while the United Arab Emirates handles the issue through a Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy and remote work applications, rather than a standalone ministry dedicated solely to AI.
He pointed out that the U.S. administration announced on 22 July 2026 federal commitments exceeding $5 billion to support the "Genesis" initiative dedicated to deploying AI in scientific research with the participation of more than 15 federal agencies, noting that this amount does not represent total U.S. AI investments but rather the funding and scale-up for that initiative.
He also noted that Saudi Arabia's national strategy for data and artificial intelligence aims to attract investments of about 75 billion riyals, train more than 20,000 specialists and experts, and support the creation of over 300 startups in the field, indicating that these experiences underscore the importance of building an integrated system for data, research and development and digital transformation rather than focusing on establishing a ministry bearing the technology's name alone.
Returning to Iraq's reality, al-Karraawi said the Iraqi National Center for Artificial Intelligence states in its published data that only 19 institutions out of 64 assessed have clear plans to raise their readiness in this field, and that "the updated version of the national AI strategy was prepared in readiness to send it to ministries and authorities, after preparing an initial version and updating it according to the requirements of the Ministry of Planning."
Al-Karraawi raised questions about the priorities that should precede the creation of an independent ministry, citing first among them the development of data centers and computing capacities, digitization of government institutions, qualification of personnel and support for scientific research, in addition to defining the institution's budget and areas of expenditure and whether resources would be directed toward building technical and research capabilities or toward creating a new administrative structure.
The report concludes by noting that Iraq ranked 12th in the Arab world and 107th globally on the Government AI Readiness Index among 188 countries in 2024, according to a report prepared by Oxford Insights in March 2025, where Iraq scored 40.91 out of 100, with a government index of 32, a technology index of 35.87, and a data and infrastructure index of 54.25.
